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Wagner

The conference saw its men’s and women’s team champions triumph in NCAA Tournament action on Wednesday.

First, Wagner played host to Southern Conference champion Mercer in a NCAA Women’s Opening Round affair on Grymes Hill. The Seahawks saw their 5-0 lead evaporate, but eventually seized control for good midway through the second half.

By virtue of its victory, Wagner will have the chance to battle No. 7 Towson in the next round on Friday.

About an hour after Wagner concluded its victory in Staten Island, the Robert Morris men faced off against MAAC member Canisius on the opposite end of the Empire State. After watching the home team score first, RMU erupted en-route to a 12-6 victory in Downtown Buffalo.

Now, it’s on to College Park where the Colonials will try their luck against No. 1 Maryland.

First, top-seeded Saint Joseph’s erased a two-goal over the final 5:00 of regulation play in the NEC Men’s Lacrosse Championship Game. SJU’s Kyle Cain scored both goals, including the equalizer with 00:15 remaining, but those heroics will go down in history only as a footnote.

Overshadowing the host’s comeback effort, Tyson Gibson gave Robert Morris a sudden victory by rattling the cage with only 10 ticks left in overtime.

Wagner offensive tackle Greg Senat, who originally attended the school on a basketball scholarship, went to the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

Prior to Senat being selected with the No. 212 overall pick this spring, former Monmouth tight end, a four-time all-NEC honoree, was the conference’s last draft pick. Nalbone went to the Dolphins with the 161st pick in the 2009 NFL Draft (5th Round).

Although Senat is the first NFL Draft pick in Wagner’s NEC history, the Seahawks have had a presence in the NFL in recent years. Former all-NEC linebacker Julian Stanford has played in 59 NFL games since 2012 and the veteran signed a free agent contract with the Buffalo Bills this past offseason.

Saint Francis’ Lorenzo Jerome (49ers) and Wagner’s Julian Stanford (Jets), neither of whom was drafted, made the cut when NFL teams were required to submit their initial 53-man regular season rosters on September 2 at 4:00 pm ET.

For Jerome, it’s another milestone during what has been a remarkable past 12 months. The span includes leading SFU to its first-ever NEC title last November, forcing five turnovers over the course of two exclusive collegiate all-star games, going undrafted in April despite high prospects, immediately turning heads as an UDFA during San Francisco’s rookie camp and OTAs, starting at free safety for the 49ers’ first two preseason games and now becoming the first Red Flash representative to make a NFL roster in more than 60 years.

Jerome, a four-time all-NEC first teamer, made 18 interceptions for Saint Francis during a collegiate career that featured All-America honors as both a kick returner and defensive back. After earning MVP honors at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, the native Floridian accounted for three takeaways while becoming the first-ever NEC player to participate in the prestigious Reese’s Senior Bowl.

Stanford, who initially entered the professional ranks as an UDFA with the Jaguars in 2012, was an active member of the Jets’ roster for much of the 2016 campaign after being signed by Gang Green in December 2015.

Stanford, who was an all-NEC selection at linebacker in 2011, has played in 43 regular season NFL contests. He played in all four preseason games for the Jets this summer and logged 13 tackles, including eight stops against the Giants in the Snoopy Bowl.

The following NEC alumni were WAIVED by their respective NFL teams prior to the official roster cutdown deadline and will hope to latch on with another club or land on a practice squad:Duquesne’s Larson Graham (Falcons), Robert Morris’ Marcelis Branch (Falcons), Wagner’s Najee Harris (Raiders), Duquesne’s Christian Kuntz (Patriots)

EXCERPT: “It’s new for us to go up to that part of the country, but a couple years we opened against Old Dominion, they put 25-30,000 people in their seats and two years ago, we went up and playing Buffalo and actually were leading that game in the 4th quarter at one point in time,” said Schmitt.

EXCERPT: The Dukes are the first team to get a shot, and while they’ll be decided underdogs against the defending Missouri Valley Football Conference champions, they are not an early-season sacrificial lamb. This is an FCS team with some momentum of its own.